Spiced Yellow Rice is an easy to make, yummy side dish! White rice is cooked with onions and a few spices, which add great color and flavor!
If you’re on the hunt for a new side dish that doesn’t take a lot of work but tastes great, check out this one! Spiced yellow rice gets it beautiful color from turmeric, a wonderful spice, that lends color AND wonderful flavor to the dish.
The recipe requires white long grain rice, chopped onion, water, a few spices, and a tiny amount of hot sauce That’s it! There’s only a few minutes of prep, then the rice cooks for about 20 minutes, and it’s ready to serve!
The spiced yellow rice is not too spicy, in my opinion, but has nice flavor with only a very small bit of heat. It’s delicious, and pairs well with most meats.
The original recipe is from one of my old “Cooking Light” cookbooks I’ve owned for almost 30 years. Here’s how to make spiced yellow rice.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
How To Make Spiced Yellow Rice
Generously spray a non-stick large skillet with non-stick baking spray. Turn the heat to Medium-High, and heat until the skillet is hot.
Add chopped onions (1¼ cups), and cook them, stirring occasionally, until they soften and become slightly translucent in color.
Now add the uncooked long grain white rice to the skillet, and stir to combine.
Pour 2 cups of water over the rice, then add ground turmeric, garlic powder, Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, and one dried bay leaf.
Stir to combine these ingredients. You will notice the water instantly change colors, with the addition of the turmeric. Cool, right?
Continue to cook the spiced yellow rice on Medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil.
Cooking The Rice
As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to LOW. Put a lid on the skillet and continue to simmer the rice.
TIP: After 15 minutes, check on the rice to make sure it has not absorbed the water too quickly (LOW temp. can vary slightly on different stove tops).
If you find the rice has absorbed the water, and is beginning to stick to the skillet, then add a bit more water (approx. ¼ cup). Stir in the water, re-cover the skillet, and continue cooking.
When done, the spiced yellow rice should be fluffy and tender, and all liquid should be fully absorbed.
Remove the skillet from the heat source. Locate and remove the bay leaf from the rice (discard). Use a fork to fluff the rice, before serving.
Serve The Spiced Yellow Rice
Transfer the spiced yellow rice to a serving bowl, and serve immediately, while hot! If desired, garnish the rice with a few sprigs of fresh parsley, for another pop of color (optional). This simple side dish pairs well with most meat entrees.
Store any leftover rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. It reheats nicely in a microwave, but may need a bit of fluffing with a fork, once it’s been refrigerated.
I hope you have the opportunity to make and enjoy spiced yellow rice, and trust you’ll enjoy it as much as we do. It’s really quite delicious!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a GREAT day!
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Original recipe source: “Cooking Light- 1994”, page 49, published by Oxmoor House, Inc. in 1993
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Spiced Yellow Rice is an easy to make, yummy side dish! White rice is cooked with onions and a few spices, which add great color and flavor!
- 1¼ cups chopped yellow onion
- ¾ cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 2 cups water
- ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other similar hot sauce
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Generously spray non-stick large skillet with baking spray. Heat on Medium-High. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent.
Add rice to skillet; stir to combine, then add water. turmeric, garlic powder, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
Cook on Medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to LOW. Put a lid on skillet and simmer rice for about 22 minutes.
TIP: After 15 minutes, check rice to make sure it has not absorbed water too quickly. If rice has absorbed too much water, and is beginning to stick to the skillet, add more water (approx. ¼ cup). Stir to combine; re-cover skillet; continue cooking. When done, rice should be tender and fluffy, and all liquid absorbed.
Remove skillet from heat. Discard bay leaf. Use a fork to fluff rice before serving.
Transfer rice to serving bowl. Serve immediately. If desired, garnish with fresh parsley (optional). Serve hot, and enjoy!
Store leftover rice in refrigerator in airtight container up to 2-3 days. Reheat in microwave, after fluffing with a fork, once refrigerated.
TIP: Keep an eye on the rice as it cooks. If it absorbs most of the water before it has cooked the full time, simply add a bit more water and stir, to prevent the rice from sticking or burning in the skillet.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
